The exterior portions of the firing mechanism, including the hammer structure of a gun, particularly an antique gun of the flint striking variety, is often subject to severe environmental hazards such as rain, snow, dust, dirt, etc. While periodic cleaning and oiling of the firing mechanism helps diminish possible harmful environmental effects, there are often times when the weapon cannot be immediately serviced, e.g., when on mock field manuevers, which may result in damage to the firing mechanism. Moreover, in the case of antique firearms which rely on the striking of a flint, moisture in the form of rain or snow may actually prevent firing of the weapon when the trigger is pulled. In addition, the exterior portion of the firing mechanism is also subject to damage if the gun is dropped or accidently struck and the hammer structure may also be accidently cocked for firing when not intended.
The present invention has been devised to overcome these problems and an object thereof is the provision of a resilient weather shield which is adapted to completely cover the exterior firing mechanism of a gun to protect it from environmental factors such as dirt, dust, rain, moisture as well as accidental shocks and blows which may be imparted thereto. Although having general applicability to any firing mechanism, the weather shield of the invention is most particularly suitable to protecting the delicate and time worn exterior firing mechanisms of antique weapons.
In addition to providing a reliable weather shield, an additional object of the invention is to provide a weather shield which can be economically and cheaply manufactured from conventional plastics materials.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method for manufacturing the above weather shield which is simple, reliable, and economical.
These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.